A bomb that killed an American soldier in the southern Philippines was believed to have been set off by one of two Filipinos who also died in the blast, officials said Thursday. Another American soldier was among 23 people wounded in Wednesday evening's blast, the second incident involving U.S. casualties since American forces arrived in the Philippines earlier this year to help to train Filipinos in fighting Muslim Abu Sayyaf fighters linked to al Qaeda.

The explosion occurred outside an open-air karaoke bar and restaurant near a military camp occupied by U.S. and Philippine troops in Zamboanga city, 535 miles south of Manila.

"The U.S. soldiers were returning to their headquarters when they stopped to buy food from a restaurant located about 550 yards from the main gate of the Philippine base when the explosion occurred," a U.S. military spokeswoman said.

The wounded American was in serious condition and was to be flown to Okinawa later Thursday for treatment, she said.
The suspect, 33-year-old Bernard Limba, was on a motorcycle "and was tinkering with something in the motorcycle when the bomb he was carrying exploded," armed forces spokesman Lt. Col. Danilo Servando told Reuters.

The motive behind the explosion was still unknown. Zamboanga City Mayor Maria Clara Lobregat said a personal grudge could be one of the motives.

Most of the wounded were Filipino civilians, but also included six local soldiers and a policeman. One was seriously injured, but others with superficial wounds were treated in hospital and discharged.

About 260 U.S. soldiers are currently deployed in Zamboanga. They were part of a contingent of more than 1,000 American troops who conducted a six-month anti-terrorism exercise on a nearby island to train Filipino soldiers in fighting the Abu Sayyaf.

REBEL LINKS PROBED

They said investigators were looking into whether the Abu Sayyaf group was involved in the bombing.

The rebels, fighting for a separate Muslim state in the southern Philippines, are listed by the United States as a terrorist group.

The Abu Sayyaf is holding seven hostages on nearby Jolo island, including three Indonesian seamen abducted from a tugboat in June and four Filipina Christian evangelists kidnapped in August.

The group is also believed to be holding two Filipino journalists who have not been heard from since Saturday.
Ten American servicemen were killed in February when a Chinook helicopter crashed into the sea off Zamboanga.

PHOTO CAPTION

A U.S. soldier was killed and another wounded on October 2, 2002 when a powerful homemade bomb believed to be planted by rebels exploded near a military camp in southern Philippines. Nine Filipinos were also injured in the blast which occurred in a small bar in Zamboanga about two miles from where the Philippine military's southern headquarters is located. (MapInfo, NASA-Visible Earth/Reuters Graphic)